toribash

By: dessgeega

On: August 26th, 2006

toribash is an ancient game of ragdoll physics-based combat.

rather than using a keyframe-based system like most 2D fighting games, the fighters in toribash are constructed of lots of joints that can all be tweaked individually. for example, to deliver a kick you need to contract your knee, extend your ankle, contract your hip, and then finally re-extend your knee to deliver the blow.

it’s rather complicated! but that’s why it’s turn-based. and the complex physics means a good player can do things like this. it can take a while for new players to learn, though — a good starting point is the tutorial movies on the game’s homepage. the official forums, too, are full of replays to study.

when you’ve mastered landing on your feet, you’ll probably want to attempt online play. the main servers are pretty high-traffic, but fun-motion (who reviewed the game recently) has set up a few more servers, with and without disqualification (when the fighter’s body touches the floor).

alternate title for this post was “the real rag-doll kung fu”.